Easily opened child&#39;s dress



E. R. KILLEEN EASILY OPENED CHILD'S DRESS.

Nov. 18, 1952 Filed 001;:"10, 1950 3maentor attorneys Patented Nov. 18, 1952 TED s'r This'invention relates to a childsdress, and has for an object to provide a dress of this character which can be much more easily opened fordressingtheohild or for removing it from the child, than the-ordinary dress, and particularly one which may be readily removed without withdrawing the arm from the sleeve as-in aclosed-sleeve, and so-may bereadily removed while the child is-asleep, for example, without disturbing the child.

Anotherobject is -to provide such a construction which can besoopened, but in which the appearance is the same as that of the usual constructions in that the releasable securing means is hidden and appears like an ordinary seam, and the garment'is no difierent in appearance than standard clothes.-

A further object is to provide a childs dress in which there is a seam comprising a row of detachable fasteners extending from the waist upwardly to the arm and then under the arm to the free edge of the cuff or sleeve band, and on both sides and arms, together with the usual placket on the front or back of the dress to permit it to be opened for passing over the child head.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, I have devised the construction illustrated in the-accompanyin drawing forming a part of this specification. It is, however, to be understood the invention is not limited to the specific details of construction and arrangement shown, but may embody various changes and modifications within the scope of the invention.

In this drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a childs dress of this improved construction;

Fig. 2 is an edge view looking from the right of Fig. 1 and showing the sleeve on that side open;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the dress on a child, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detailed cross section of the openable seam.

This construction is designed to be used only on child's dresses, and in the usual terms of the trade a dress comprises a continuous skirt all the way around, while if it is open all the way down to the lower edge of the skirt it is not termed a dress. Also, in a childs dress the sleeves are always short, as for little tots the dresses are never made with long sleeves. Such a dress as shown in the drawin comprises a continuous skirt In all the way around below the waist II. The upper part of the dress or 4-. Claims. (Cl. 2.7.5);

body portion l2 above the waist has-the usual placket, either at the front or back, extending from the neck band 9 to the waist H, in this case shown at l3 on the back, comprising any usual type of closing means,'-such, for example, as the line of buttons l4 so that the dress may be opened for passage over the childshead:

The dress is provided with an open seam IS on each side extending from the waist at Hito the free edge of the cuff or sleeve bandat H,

and although any suitable type of detachable fasteningmay be used for closing this seam, there: are distinct advantages in the type of closing means shown over such fasteners ashooks and eyes and buttons, This fastener as shown come prises so-called grippers comprising male elements 18 on one side cooperating withfemale elements It on the other side, which aresimilar to snap fasteners but are known as grippers in that the individual elements, both male and female, are fastened onto a strip of fabric 23 at the factory and are sold on these strips, so that,

in applying them to a garment all that is necessary is to cut the strip to proper length and then attach it to the garment by a line of,

stitching 2| along each side, as shown. The separate grippers or fasteners are thus automatically properly and'uniformly'spaced so that the resultant seam is smooth, flat and uniform throughout its entire length. In a seam using such grippers as a closing means these grippers or fasteners are entirely covered by the overlapped portions of the seam when closed, so that they are out of sight and they may be easily and quickly applied, and can also be easily and quickly attached and detached in closing or opening the seam. They make a very reliable seam which is not likely to be opened accidentally while being worn, as they make a firm closure, which is much firmer than the closures of hooks and eyes or buttons, and they are much less apt to pull ofi". Furthermore, they are entirely covered when the seam is closed, which would not be true of buttons, and therefore make a nice, smooth appearance. In fact, it is so smooth and uniform that the ordinary observer would not know from its looks or appearance that it comprises a separable closure means made up of a series of separate fasteners.

As these seams l5 at the side and under the arms extend from the waistline to the free edge of the cufi or sleeve band 22 of the sleeves 23, they can be opened for their full length in removing the dress from a child. This permits the removing of the childs arms, which often are quite plump, from the garment, with little or no difficulty, and this is true even though the child may be sleepy or asleep, without disturbing the child. This is often a quite difficult operation where the sleeves are closed as in the old type, and especially cannot be accomplished without disturbing or awakening the child. In other words, with this construction it is not necessary to withdraw the childs arms through the sleeves in removing the dress, as in the old construction of closed sleeves, and this can be done very easily at any time, even when the child is asleep, and without disturbing it.

Although this gripper fastener means gives the efiect of an ordinary seam, the garment can be much more easily ironed than can the closed sleeve dress, as the sleeves may be opened, permitting insertion of the iron in the ironing operation, which cannot be done with the closed sleeve.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim:

1. A childs dress comprising a continuous skirt all the Way around below the waist, the body portion above the waist line being provided with a placket extending downwardly from the neck band to permit passing the garment over a childs head, sleeves at the opposite sides at the upper part of the body portion, and an openable seam at each side of the body portion beginning and extending upwardly from substantially the waistline and under the sleeve to the free edge of the sleeve band, and a series of separable fasteners for closing said seam.

2. A child's dress comprising a body portion above a waistline, and a continuous skirt all the way around below the waistline, said body portion being provided with a placket extending downwardly from the neck band to permit opening the dress for passage over a childs head, short sleeves at the opposite sides of the body at the upper portion thereof, an openable overlapped seam extending from the free edge of each sleeve band along the under side thereof and down the side of the body portion to substantially the waistline only, and gripper fasteners for closing each seam comprising two series of cooperating male and female fastener members on the opposed sides of the overlapped portions of the seam and each series being secured to a fabric strip stitched to these overlapped portions.

3. A childs dress comprising a body portion above a waistline, and a continuous skirt all the way around below the waistline, said body portion being provided with a placket extending downwardly from the neck band to permit opening the dress for passage over a child's head, sleeves at the opposite sides of the body at the upper portion thereof, an openable seam extending from the free edge of each sleeve band along the under side thereof and down the side of the body portion to substantially the waistline only, said seam comprising overlapped free edge portions of the body, and a series of spaced separable fasteners on the opposed faces of said overlapped portions and covered by these portions when the seam is closed.

4. A childs dress comprising a continuous skirt all the way around below the waist, the body portion above the waist being provided with a placket extending downwardly from the neck band to permit passing the garment over a childs head, sleeves at the opposite sides at the upper part of the body portion, an openable seam extending from the free edge of each sleeve band along the under side thereof to the body and down the side of the body to substantially the waistline only, said seam comprising overlapped free edge portions of the body, and a series of gripper fasteners detachably closing the seam comprising a strip offabric stitched to each of the opposed faces of the overlapped portions with a series of spaced male fastener members on one strip and a corresponding series of female fastener members on the other strip.

ERMA R. KILLEEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Number Name Date 782,819 Bikle Feb. 21, 1905 1,797,604 Burgdorfer Mar. 24, 1931 2,381,601 Lane Aug. 7, 1945 2.533.039 Peitzm-an et al. Dec. 5 1950 

